And you need a Q plasma (plasma energy out/plasma energy in) of ~100 to achieve economically viable electricity production. The EU has a project called DEMO scheduled for completion in the 2050s. They target a Q Plasma of 25. It will generate ~230 MW of net electricity. It will be absurdly expensive and, knowing the EU, I am skeptical about the date. ITER, a much simpler design with a Q plasma of 10 and no electricity production, has cost 20+ billion Euros, more than 100% over budget. And it is a 34-year-old project with nothing to show for it yet. They plan to demonstrate a Q plasma of 10 in 2035! The electricity you could extract from the ITER would be ~190 MW, if you could. That would mean minus 130 MW of net electricity. Economists believe even at a Q plasma of 100, fusion-sourced electricity would be rather expensive compared to solar, wind and gas.
So I have no idea where this "free and limitless" energy meme came from. Fusion power is both very limited and expensive. And it is always some decades away. Maybe that's because nobody is funding a method that likely won't be economically viable ever.
